


I Saw Her in My Dreams

by Pixelated_Wings



Series: Rhys' Story [2]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Calanmai, F/M, rhys prospective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25084294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixelated_Wings/pseuds/Pixelated_Wings
Summary: Rhys' perspective on Calanmai
Relationships: Feyre Archeron & Rhysand, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand
Series: Rhys' Story [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816732
Kudos: 22





	I Saw Her in My Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! This is kind of a prequel to another fic I am working on but I got the prompt in my comment section and couldn't help but write it. I hope you enjoy. 
> 
> Warnings: some self-deprecation in Rhys' internal monologue and a slight mention to Amarantha and Rhys.

I had been having the dreams for a while now. I would see flashes of worn paint covering a small cottage or the entrails of an animal as it was being cleaned peek through an ever-present fog. The day that fog disappeared, the dream was filled with creatures from the faerie realm. This would have been odd except these dreams had always been full of the mundane.

Thoughts and questions about the sudden change plagued me for days. I would lie awake, as Amarantha slumbered next to me and think about the new clarity and the new creatures in the visions that brought me joy in a very cruel place.

Visions… Maybe they were never dreams in the first place, I thought one night. Could they be from… No. It can’t be.

Weeks passed by and the visions became more and more frequent. The happier dreams consisted of memories; hunting, the laughing face of two girls, and a man gathered around a table in that familiar cottage. Meanwhile, the darker dreams were chock-full of creatures like the Bogge and the nagas. The stark difference between the dreams and nightmare brought me to a startling conclusion.

Perhaps the fog was the wall.

This thought haunted me for days. It chased me down the halls, echoing against the roughly hewed stone.

Why would a human be in Prythian? I asked myself. Why would she crossover the wall now? Was she a child of the blessed?

Even so, it wasn’t until I saw the unlit bonfires of Calanmai that I really began to worry. Calanmai was dangerous for a human, even when compared to the everyday dangers of living in Prythian. This human would not survive the night by herself. I decided at that moment that I had to find my way to her. No matter how many I had watched die or had snuffed myself, I could never forgive myself if I did nothing to help whoever was on the other side of my bond. My…

Nope. It can’t be. And even if she was, why would she want someone like you? All it would get her is a broken neck.

The next morning, as Amarantha is kissing down the side of my neck, I take a deep breath and test my luck.

“Calanmai is tomorrow,” I say.

This draws her attention away from my neck. She sits up, her lithe body leaning against the far post.

“And?” she says, her tone curious with a hint of suspicion.

“And the deadline is fast approaching. I was thinking it might be best to send someone to keep an eye on things.” I try to keep the pleading out of my voice.

She tilts her head as she contemplates my words. “Very well. You may go. You have been a very good boy lately. I think you deserve a reward.” her words send chills down my spine, making my muscles tense.

“Thank you, my Queen,” I say, grabbing her hand and kissing it. My mouth moves from her hand to her lips, and as she takes from me that morning, I can’t focus on my disgust and self-loathing. Instead, I am thinking of the lost girl I will hopefully get to meet the next day.

I winnow to just outside the celebration. Fire Night started a few hours ago, but it took me a fair while to leave my prison. As my eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, I am struck by my suppressed longing for the sun. I might be High Lord of the night court, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t missed the sun in my forty-nine years underground. It just means that I missed the moon more. When I reach the party, I am struck by how archaic the whole celebration is. I had heard stories about the traditions of the Spring Court, but studying them and seeing them were two entirely different things. The rave reminded me more like the nightly revelries Under the Mountain than anything we had in the Night Court. Perhaps Amarantha had actually taken inspiration from Spring instead of my home like all the rumors said. Despite their negativity, I didn’t mind the rumors. In reality, they provided a layer of protection. A bad reputation is far more intimidating than a good one.

As I wander from bonfire to bonfire, weaving between trees, I lock on to a scent that feels different from the rest. It smells like home. I immediately switch directions, following my nose until I find a human girl flanked on all sides by three fairies. They are shoving her between them, wanding hands running along her skin. One pushes a little too hard and the girl stumbles. I move before I can even think, my hands reaching out to grab her before she hits the ground. I push her to her feet and the words leave my mouth before I can think too hard about what I am saying.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

The woman tenses but her eyes don’t leave the threat in front of her. The eyes of the fairies are as large as saucers, once they recognize who I am. I step to her side, hoping to relieve the fear coating her scent by eliminating the threat to her front and the unknown variable at her back. My arm slips around her shoulders.

“Thank you for finding her for me,” I say, letting my practiced drawl cover the death coating my tongue. “Enjoy the Rite.” I guess it didn’t quite work because the three men turn tail and run away as fast as they can. I mean, I don’t blame them. I was ready to kill them right there.

The woman steps out from under my arm and I hear her breath hitch as she sees me. She takes a few moments to study me and I, her. Her hair is a light brown, pulled back from her face by a set of combs. She was wearing a knee-length tunic that fitted her slender body like a glove. I couldn’t notice from far away, but her eyes were the most piercing blueish-greyish hue that cut through my skin and muscles and into my soul.

Eventually, I break the silence. “What is a mortal woman doing here on Fire Night?” I ask. My tone is smoothed into disinterest through years of practice.

She takes a step back as if remembering that she should be scared of me.

“My friends brought me.”

Hmm. No, I don’t think that is quite right. I play along anyway.

“And who are your friends?”

“Two ladies.” My bullshit detector is going through the roof.

“Their names?” I take a step closer, her scent is so overwhelmingly intoxicating that the space between us feels like the water over a swimmer's head when they have been underneath for too long. However, she took a step back, a motion that startled me out of my trance.

“You’re welcome. For saving you.”

She scoffed at that.

I began to circle her as I spoke. “Strange for a mortal to be friends with two faeries. Aren’t humans usually terrified of us?” and she was. I could have smelled her fear from thirty miles away. “And aren’t you, for that matter, supposed to keep to your side of the wall?

She lies again, determined to stick with her story. “I’ve known them my whole life. I’ve never had anything to fear from them.”

“And yet they brought you to the Great Rite and abandoned you.”

“They went to get refreshments.” I will give her this: she thinks incredibly fast on her feet.

“I’m afraid the refreshments are a long way off. It might be a while before they return. May I escort you somewhere in the meantime?”

Anything for just one more minute with her.

“No.” Damn.

“Enjoy the Rite, then. Try to stay out of trouble.”

Just as I am about to turn, she unexpectedly opens her mouth to speak.

“So you’re not a part of the Spring Court?”

I almost laughed. “Do I look like I’m part of the Spring Court?” I can’t fully hide my disgust. I do laugh then. A slow chuckle just under my breath but a laugh all the same. “No, I am not a part of the noble Spring Court. And glad of it.” I gesture at my face, referencing the signature spring masks sported by all of those in the Spring Court as a part of Amarantha’s curse.

“Why are you here, then?”

I can only shrug, letting the darkness I keep hidden flood to the surface of my eyes. She takes a step back. “Because all the monsters have been let out of their cages tonight, no matter what court they belong to.” And I had to protect you from them. “So I may roam wherever I wish until dawn.” If only that were really true.

She takes a moment to study my expression. My eyes had turned cruel and my smile sharp. My shoulders were relaxed but my body was still taught enough to appear dangerous.

“Enjoy the Rite,” she says, keeping her words even. She turns quickly and hurries back to the fire. 

I stare after her as she goes. The mortal woman made of glass and fire. I hope for her sake, we never met again. But when have I ever gotten what I wished for?


End file.
